🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics investigated, exerting pressure on the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our standing and credibility," the president stated recently in a social media message.

"They impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been charged, in situations that many experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and difficult to win in court.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like equating apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Details of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a potentially stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and appears to have occurred over a considerable period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled highly classified.

The indictment alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where files were kept and sent an apparent warning to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to eighteen distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed questions about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and why these charges are being brought at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations stated and show the material is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are brought against equally junior and high-level personnel, from time to time," she said.

Parallels to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents matters, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security role at the DOJ.

Strict procedures regulate the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the information at question in this case, we don't have a lot of details about why the government believes things like the diary entries and the additional material he shared by electronic message, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors seem to have adhered to standard procedure.

"This Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "clearly sets forth the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears fairly aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."